Device for trimming grain



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' M. E. SEELEY.

DEVICE EOE TEIMMNG GRAIN.

No. 344,602. Patented June 29, 1886.l

(No Model.) 2A sheets-sheet 2.`

M. F. SEELEY.

DBVIGBPOR TRIMMING GRAIN. No. 344,602. Patented June 29,1886.

L AJ

Unirse Srn'rns .germer @einen MARQUIS F. SEELEY, OF FREMONT, NEBRASKA..

Device ron Tnnvnvnne canin.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, (Z4/1,602, dated June 29, 1886.

(No model.)

To @ZZ whom may concern;

Be it known that I, Mnnonis F. SEELEY, of Fremont, in the county of' Dodgcand State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Devices for Trimming Grain 5 and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description there of', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, andto the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a power device for trimming grain-cars, whereby the grain spouted into the middle of a car may be rapidly and easily distributed therein.

To these ends the invention consists in the several matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section of a grain-car in the act of being loaded, showing the distributing-Wheel of my invention in place, together with one form of driving-connections for the same. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical seetion of the car shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail section of a part of the driving-gear shown in Fig. 1, taken upon the line x .r of said Iigure. Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of the outer end of the driving-shaft shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of a grain-car illustrating another device for actuating` the distributing-wheel. Fig. 6 is a detail section taken upon line .fr x of Fig. 5.

In the said drawings, A A represent the` ear,of.which B is the doorway, and C the usual partial door occupying the lower part of the doorway. f

D is the grain-spout, which delivers the grain from anadjacent elevator-building (represented at E) into the middle of the car through the doorway B.

The principal featureof a device embodying my invention is arevolving wheel constructed to turn about an axis which is horizontal, ornearly so, provided with peripheral blades or shovels, said wheels being actuated by any suitable driving-connections and sustained in suchmanner that its revolving blades may be applied to or over the pile of grain beneath thespout inl such manner as to cast orthrow the grain into the end portions of the ear.

Arevolvingwheel constructed and operatingjin the manner above set forth may obviously be operated in any one of a number of different ways.

In the particular construction herein shown as one practical way of carrying my invention into effect, the wheel is mounted upon the end of a rotating shaft actuated by power within the elevator-building. Y

F is a wheel. G is a horizontal shaft upon which it is mounted, and H is a pulley for driving the shaft, located within the building E. The wheel F is, as shown, located near the middle ofthe car at a short distance above the floor and in position to east the grain`laterally as fast as it falls from the spout D.

Any well-known means may be provided to Yenable the wheel and 4shaft to be inserted in One device for and removed from the car. this purpose (herein shown and illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4) consists in making the shaft movable longitudinally in its bearings, so that it may be drawn out into position for operation or thrust back so as to clear the car when not in use. In this construction the wheel is preferably made removable, so as to enable the wheel to be introduced into and removed from the car without interference with the door G, the end of the shaft for this purpose preferably being squared and the wheel held in place thereon by a pin, e. y,

The shaft may be conveniently actuated by means of a bandpulley, H, mounted upona hollow sleeve, H', having suitable bearings, 7L, and engaged with the shaft G, which passes through it, by means of a groove and spline, whereby the shaft may slide freely through the sleeve, but will always be in operative engagement therewith.

A suitable reversing-gear is used in the driving-connections, by which the belt-pulley is driven, whereby its direction of motion and that of lthe shaft and wheel may be reversed for throwing the grain into opposite ends of the car.

A means of bracing or supporting from lateral movement the outer end of the shaft G is shown in the drawings, consisting of inclined braces I, connecting a bearing orI sleeve, I', held between collars g g upon the outer end of the shaft with thewall of the building or other IOO stationary support. As preferably constructed,-the braces I are pivotally connected with the sleeve I and with slides I2, mounted to slide vertically upon guide-rods I3, secured upon the building-wall, whereby the upper ends of said brace-rodswill automatically rise and fall when the shaft is thrust in and drawn out, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig.1.V

Another construction in the shaft G, whereby the said shaft and the wheel F may be readily placed in and removed from the car, is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, in which the said shaft is made stationary longitudinally, and is provided outside of the building with two knuckle or universal joints, G G2, preferably located at some distance apart, so that the outer part or section of the shaft may be folded back upon th'e one adjacent to, the building in removing the wheel from the car.

When the shaft is jointed or iiexible, as above set forth, the wheel may be held and manipulated by hand; but, preferably, a bearing, as AJ, provided with means whereby it may be rigidly supported from the car or building, will be employed to sustain the outer section of the shaft and wheel. As a simple and convenient device for this purpose the bearing J shown is provided with two downwardly-extending pivoted legs, J J', adapted to engage the car-floor, and a third upwardlyprojecting leg or brace, J '2, constructed to engage the car-roof, and provided with means for adjusting its length, whereby it may be forced upwardly and held in contact with the roof, and the/bearing J thereby held firmly in position. For this purpose the vbearing J shown is provided with an upwardly-project ing sleeve, j, made square interiorly, and the leg J2 is provided with a square lower end fitted to slide vertically in the sleeve. *A nut, j', engaged with a screw-thread upon the leg J'l above the sleeve j, and resting upon said sleeve, may be used for forcing upward the leg, said nut being desirably provided with radial handspike apertures, as shown. The leg J2 is preferably provided at its upper end with two or more spikes, jt, adapted to enter the car-roof, so as to aid in holding the bearing from turning.

The shaft G may be desirably provided with a coupling, G3, as shown in Fig. 5, whereby the portion thereof outside of the building may be removed when the device is not in operation, if desired. The said coupling is preferably made withV a long sleeve, g', fitted over the end of the shaft, and held thereon by a setscrew or otherwise, so that the length of the shaft exterior to the building may be adjusted to bring the wheel accurately into position in the car. A construction whereby the shaft G is madeflexible by the use of universal joints, or otherwise, may be of advantage in some cases, inasmuch as it enables the wheel to be adjusted either laterally or vertically in the car.

In the operation of the devicey described the wheel will usually be placed in' the car,

and the grain allowed to run in until sufficient has entered to reach the lower part of' the wheel, when the latter is started in one direction, and revolved until sufficient incoming grain has been thrown to one end of' the car to fill the latter. The direction of motion is then reversed, and the grain is similarly distributed in the opposite'end of' the car.V The grain will usually be distributed laterally in the car by the action of flat blades upon the Wheel; but the blades may be made of other shape, or the wheel Ymoved bodily during its operation, if a more accurate or even distribution is found necessary or desirable. The blades, instead of' being flat, may be made convex, as indicated, for instance, in Fig. 5, or conc-ave, as may be found upon experiment with wheels of different sizes or operating under different speeds to be most desirable for the purpose of effectively distributing the grain in the car.

The principal feature of novelty in my invention is the distributing-wheel constructed to revolve upon a horizontal axis; and such device is herein broadly claimed, without restriction to the particular details of construction herein shown in the wheel itself or in the means for supporting and operating it. Specific claims are, however, also made herein to certain o'f the novel features of construction illustrated, as will hereinafter appear.

I am aware that it has been proposed heretofore to employ, as a means of distributing grain in the holds of vessels,a revolving bladed wheel turning upon a vertical axis, in connectionwith a spout constructed to discharge above the wheel in such manner that the grain will be cast or thrown horizontally by the contact of the moving blades with the falling grain. Wheels revolving upon vertical axes, such as above described, require special devices for guiding the grain to the wheel and for directing the course of the grain as itleaves the wheel, and in the use of said devices the IOS IIO

speed of rotation of the wheel must be accurately regulated in order to obtain favorable results. IBy the use of a wheel revolving upon a horizontal axis and adapted to operate upon a pile or mass of grain deposited upon a carfloor or other surface, a device is produced which is free from the objectionable complication present in devices heretofore employed, and which is at the same time capable of efficient use, for the purpose stated.

. I claim as my invention-` l. In a device for trimming grain, the combination, with a series of blades or shovels constructed to revolve about a horizontal axis, of a horizontal grain-supportingsurface located below the shovels, and sustaining the grain in position for the operation of the said shovels thereon, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a grain-distributing wheel'constructed to revolve about ahorizontal axis, of stationary actuating devices for the Wheel, and an adjustable bearing or support for the end of said shaft adjacent to the Wheel, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a grain-distributing wheel constructed to revolve about a horizontal axis, and a driving-shaft therefor, of means for sustaining the end of the shaft adjacent to the wheel, consisting of a bearing adapted for rigid connection With a car, substantially as described.

4. The oon1bination,with a revolving graindistributing wheel and a driving-shaft therefor, of a bearing, J, for the shaft, adjacent to the Wheel, said bearing being provided with means for securing :it to the door and roof of the oar, substantially as described.

MARQUIS F. SEELEY.

Witnesses:

G. CLARENCE PooLn7 G. F. LANAGHEN. 

